Global Media Intelligence 2020: Ireland

Key Features

In most respects, Ireland’s media profile changed little from last year.

  • In H1 2019, 95.9% of internet users in Ireland ages 16 to 64 owned a smartphone, according to GlobalWebIndex, while 81.4% owned a desktop or laptop. Those shares barely shifted in H1 2020, reaching 96.4% and 81.0%, respectively. Tablets also saw a marginal decline from 53.4% to 51.6%.
  • Tablet ownership still correlated with higher income and rising age; however, among PC owners, those connections diminished. In fact, the greatest penetration of PCs this year was among respondents ages 16 to 24, at 85.1%. Predictably, smartphone ownership was almost uniformly high across all demographics.
  • Larger screens still claim more media time than mobile phones. In H1 2020, respondents spent 3 hours, 12 minutes (3:12) each day on PCs and tablets, compared with 2:50 on mobile.
  • Overall, penetration of print media was also broadly similar to 2019. Some 58.8% of respondents polled in H1 2020 read a print newspaper in the past month. That included more than two-thirds of those ages 45 to 64. A broadly similar age-related pattern emerged among print magazine readers. But unlike newspapers, magazines appeared to have lost reach, with readership dropping below 50%.
  • Broadcast radio consumption rose by almost 3 percentage points in H1 2020. Nearly 82% of internet users listened to live radio programs during the prior month, spending an average 1:12 per day. As in 2019, penetration was above average among internet users in affluent and rural households and highest of all (over 91%) among 45- to 64-year-olds.
  • By contrast, teens and young adults remain the driving force behind digital audio takeup. Just under 70% of respondents had streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio content in the month prior to polling. But penetration among 16- to-24-year-olds (91.9%) was double that of the oldest age bracket (46.0%).

authors

Karin von Abrams

Contributors

Anam Baig
Senior Editor
Joanne DiCamillo
Donte Gibson
Chart Editor
Kathleen Hamblin
Chart Editorial Manager
Dana Hill
Director of Production
Erika Huber
Copy Editor
Magenta Ranero
Senior Chart Editor
Hilary Rengert
VP, Research Strategy
Amanda Silvestri
Senior Copy Editor